Energy company Gasum on Monday (27 September) said it has delivered liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel to the French luxury cruise operator La Compagnie du PONANT in Le Havre, France.
The LNG was delivered to PONANT ’s newbuild polar explorer Le Commandant Charcot in its inaugural call to the French port on the 24 September 2021.
The bunkering operation was Gasum’s first LNG delivery in France and marked a further milestone in the extension of the company’s delivery network. It was also the first LNG bunkering ever performed in Le Havre, the second largest commercial port and the largest container port in France, says Gasum.
Gasum and PONANT share the dedication both to excellency and to reducing the environmental footprint of the shipping industry. Le Commandant Charcot, named after the renowned french polar scientist and explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, is the first hybrid-electric polar exploration ship powered by LNG. This unique polar exploration vessel is the latest addition to PONANT’s fleet and is set to sail the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
“We have been working on this natural gas powered polar exploration ship project for 6 years and this is already the second liquefied natural gas bunkering operation we have carried out with Gasum since the delivery of the ship on 29th July 2021. These LNG bunkering operations represent the culmination of several years of analysis, engineering and testing to perform these operations safely and with maximum efficiency,” says Hervé Gastinel, CEO of PONANT.
“The ship reached the Geographic North Pole for the first time on 6th September 2021, using natural gas throughout its journey. We are fully satisfied and particularly proud of the technical innovations developed on this ship that have enabled us to achieve this exceptional performance.
“Le Commandant Charcot is the first passenger ship equipped with high pressure membrane LNG tanks offering up to 2 months of autonomy on natural gas, greater flexibility in its bunkering and operation, and guaranteeing enhanced safety. Le Commandant Charcot paves the way for new and more environmentally friendly natural gas propulsion methods and helps to meet the CO2 reduction targets set out in the Paris Agreement.”
Reducing emissions is crucial as Le Commandant Charcot will be operating in fragile environments, such as the waters of the North Pole and Antarctica. LNG is currently the most environmentally friendly maritime fuel available. Switching to LNG removes completely SoX and particle emissions and reduces NoX emissions up to 85%. LNG also emits at least 20 % less CO2 when compared to traditional maritime fuels.
LNG is a way towards a low-carbon future for maritime
Maritime traffic contributes up to 3 % of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes directly to global warming. Gasum is leading the way towards a cleaner future for maritime transport by operating as a premium supplier of LNG and an expert in bunkering services.
“This delivery marks an important step in our cooperation with PONANT and I am proud to support PONANT in reducing their emissions. At the same time, we expand our delivery network to a port as significant as Le Havre. Our services for maritime operators all over Europe are becoming even more relevant, in the light of the requirements of the EU’s recent Fit for 55 -climate package proposal,” says Jacob Granqvist, Vice President of Gasum’s Maritime.
LNG is rapidly becoming more common as a maritime fuel, as switching to it is one of the concrete actions that can be taken towards significantly reducing maritime traffic’s climate impact. As a fuel it is interchangeable with 100 % renewable liquefied biogas (LBG) which means that it can be mixed with and even replaced by LBG. As a fuel LBG is even cleaner than LNG as it can reduce CO2 emissions over its lifetime cycle up to 90 %.
Photo credit: Gasum
Published: 28 September, 2021
‘Economics of the shipping market will be the key driver enabling methanol to be adopted at a higher pace going forth over next couple years as market begins to return to more normal rates,’ states COO.
Integr8 Fuel injunction varied by Singapore Court to allow former employees to start work at Hartree Group in December 2022 following failure to produce evidence on biofuels development plans.
Variability of sources can affect the stability and performance of biofuel bunkers produced from these feedstocks, in turn leading to difficulties in meeting regulations and industry standards, shares Bryan Quek.
Top three positive movers in 2022 were Bunker House Petroleum Pte Ltd (+7), Eastpoint International Marketing Pte Ltd (+5), and Eng Hua Company (Pte) Ltd (+6); newcomer Sinopec Fuel Oil (Singapore) gets 19th spot.
Livestock carrier also involved in earlier bunker claim with Glander International Bunkering due to remaining unpaid fuel bill of approximately USD 116,000, according to court documents obtained by Manifold Times.
A blend of standard MGO and biodiesel, MGO B20 is distributed at the company’s floating kiosk CNC 5 which is located off the buoy of West Coast Pier; PS Energy has been stamped with globally recognised ISCC.